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Ruminating on issues pertinent to the design and development of sound databases and processes under Microsoft SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005, and SQL Server 2000 (while reserving the right to vent about anything else that's on my mind)

Mahesh passed along a wonderful bit of research he completed to aid in a platform upgrade, and I'd like to share it here. Here is a series of links to identify discontinued and deprecated features and behavior changes in SQL Server:
Discontinued...

This is the coolest thing I've seen in quite awhile..
Microsoft Server and Tools (the group that brings you, among others, the MSDN , TechNet , Expression , and CodePlex sites) is leveraging the latest translation technology from Windows Live and Microsoft...

One of the great things about my involvement with the SQL Ranger community is that I occasionally hear from past Candidates asking for help with issues in the field. So it was earlier this week when Binh Cao, an MCS Senior Consultant II based in San Diego...

Binh Cao's customer left a comment on yesterday's post on global temp tables. Here's the money quote:
My research confirms that global temp table does allow the plan to be shared among processes. However now we are forced to deal with the problem...

This was my first week back in Redmond since moving to Florida. I "celebrated" by walking to work all week:
Commuting Options Selected since 12 June 2006
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Telecommuted...

La Font de Canaletes is a public fountain near the head of La Rambla de Catalunya in what it currently the center of Barcelona, Spain: When I was in Barcelona last November, I reported that I "drank generously from the fountain, hopefully sealing...

Monday was non-competitive; I telecommuted from my home office in central Florida for the remainder of the week:
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Telecommuted...

Almost three years after the post was originally published in October of 2005, Mark Johansen, author of A Sane Approach to Database Design (an approach I trust it's clear I favor) has left a terrific comment on the Do Not Fear NULLs article which is worthy...

Now the story can be told.. the last couple weeks have not been pretty around here, connectivity wise. Think of a duck.. paddling like the dickens underwater to keep things going while looking calm and serene from above. Note that if...

Monday through Thursday I telecommuted from my home office; Friday I drove to the MSFT sales office in Tampa to pick up and configure a new computer:
Commuting Options Selected since 12 June 2006
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..while we were preparing for our move.. The company chose my 48th birthday (two days before the movers descended on us) as the RTM date for SQL Server 2008. There's a full download available here (subscription required); the free Express version...

We are 32 days in Florida as of today, and so far it's been a marvelous experience.
All three boys are thriving in school. I haven't seen so many A's since my mother's book club read The Scarlet Letter. * Good on you, boys!
Connectivity in the home...

Marc left a great question on a Pond's Laws post from July of 2006 :
Hi,
I have a flashcard system that randomly pulls a word from the database. I also have a testing module that allows a user to test him or her self on words. For each word the...

MCO, for the groundlocked, is the FAA Airport Code for the airport in Orlando, Florida. The same broadband card that speaks to the Yagi antenna back home has found broadband-level connectivity in MCO's Terminal A. It would therefore appear...

A note passed through my inbox this morning that may be of interest..
Tomorrow, September 24, at 9am PST, Mark Russinovich will lead a virtual roundtable exploring top of mind performance issues, common misconfigurations, and tips on how to fix them...